Thiem conquerors out
Draper & Mensik in the Erste Bank Open quarter-finals
The next quarter-finalists at the €2.626 million Erste Bank Open in Vienna have been decided: British number seven seed Jack Draper eliminated Italian Luciano Darderi, who had ended Dominic Thiem's career in round one, 7-5, 6-1 on Thursday and was delighted with his 50th victory on hardcourt. Earlier, Czech Jakub Mensik booked his place in the last eight with a 6-3, 7-6(7) win over Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic.
Draper has enjoyed a rapid rise this year: in the year of British legend Andy Murray's retirement, of all things, the 22-year-old 1.93-meter left-hander has moved from 61st place at the start of the year into the top 20 for the first time. He started his year with his first tour-level final in Adelaide, followed by his first tournament win, which came on grass in Stuttgart.
Finished first against Sinner at the US Open
He booked his place at the US Open with a quarter-final in Cincinnati, where after a sensational run without dropping a set he only lost in the semi-final to the eventual winner Jannik Sinner. "Nothing has changed since then. I've been working very consistently for a long time. Perhaps the only thing that has changed is my belief in myself."
You can have a good career in the top 50, but the feeling of having really achieved something doesn't come. "The US Open and the title in Stuttgart before that helped my confidence a lot," said the Oasis fan, who is only 22 and has already secured tickets for a reunion concert.
Draper is the Brits' new great hope. "I have a lot of respect for Andy, I've spent a lot of time with him and I really admire him for what he's achieved. But I'm not trying to be the next Murray or fill a massive hole," explained Draper. He also rates Murray as one of the greatest players of all time.
Thiem "one of my favorite players"
This is Draper's first time in Vienna. He enjoys the atmosphere of the tournament and also found it "very special" to witness Thiem's retirement here. "He was one of my favorite players when I was growing up."
And now he is already fighting for a place in the semi-finals on Friday. "It was a good match today, I'm happy to be in the quarter-finals," said the world number 18, who will face either Grigor Dimitrov (BUL-3) or Tomas Machac from the Czech Republic.
Interestingly, Draper is actually naturally right-handed, but plays tennis with his left hand. "It's strange. I do everything with my right hand, I also write with my right. When I was younger, my mom was a tennis coach and when I was hitting balls against the wall very young, I just picked up the racquet with my left. Now I feel quite strong on both hands," explained the rising star.
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